Happy Days

Our Mission continues to be busy, busy, and very rewarding and fulfilling. Since we are in the Visitors' Centre everyday except prep-day we see the Christus statue in many different lighting conditions. We notice many people walk by on Exhibition Road and while they may not come in, they turn and look or photograph the beautiful statue. Some see the distinctive statue, pause, and then come in have a look around. We always welcome them no mater how long they are able to stay!

On our Tuesday prep-day we decided to go to the London Temple. Since we do not have access to a car, we used public transportation; tube to Victoria Station, Overground to Lingfield, and a taxi to the Temple. The entire trip takes about 1.5 hours one-way and oh, it was worth it. We loved being in the Temple again.

Victoria Station

Selfie on the train to Lingfield

Linda as we enter the London Temple grounds

Our selfie on the beautiful Temple grounds

The moss in the reflecting pool was new to us but very beautiful

Waiting for the train at Lingfield

Pat continues to walk each morning, often in beautiful Hyde Park. On Saturday morning we have a Visitors' Centre training meeting. After we have a light breakfast with the Sisters and Senior couples.

Bridge over the Serpentine in Hyde Park

Sisters Lung, Kerr, and Phillips

Sisters Moody, Croft, and Griffeth

Sister Apiyo

Sisters Lung and Debrowska

Our new tablecloth adds some color to our flat.

We are constantly amazed at the people and connections we discover.
This couple are the Nielsons from San Mateo, California where
Bishop Nielson is Matthew and Stacie's bishop - such a small world!

Pedro is from the Portuguese speaking City Ward
and had just returned from Stake Young Men's Camp
wearing a big smile and an "I'm a Mormon" shirt in Portuguese.

Linda is a wonderful companion (both mission and eternal).
We are learning so much and trying to be bold as we share the
glorious truths of the restored gospel and inviting all to come unto Christ.

To all the World

We have had several visitors these past weeks from Turkey. A family of three on Wednesday and a young woman just yesterday came in from Turkey and were excited to get a Book of Mormon translated in Turkish. It is interesting to note that as of July 1st this year, there is an official Mission opening in Turkey.

Random Pictures

We often see people looking up at the Christus statue from inside and outside.

Across the street from the chapel is a .3 mile subway tunnel
to the South Kensington Station

Linda and the Sister Missionaries prepare for the day.

We met a 2nd family from Brian and Carol's ward, the Longhursts.

We had an opportunity to see a Proms concert at
Royal Albert Hall from the nose-bleed seats.

Before it gets busy, Linda poses in front of one of the
popular exhibits, the I-Wall (I'm A Mormon).

The England London Mission had Zone Conferences this week.
Most were held at the Hyde Park Chapel cultural hall.

Saturday Grocery Shopping

There are several cafes, a bakery and small shops around the corner, but for the main grocery shopping, we go to Sainsbury's.  It is only a half-mile walk from our flat. Sometimes we go solo, but it is nice to go as companions:)

The cart on wheels is called a trolley. Very handy:) The previous tenants left it in our flat.

Sunday Morning Shift

Today we did the Sunday morning shift from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Usually we don't do this one as our regular church meetings are during that time. As we left the shift at 1 p.m. we had counted 120 visitors, many coming to attend one of the three church services. I can remember talking to people from CA, OR, WA, DC, KY, ID, UT in the states, Italy, and Germany. One young man had just arrived from Korea and had his luggage in hand. It is inspiring to see the efforts people make to worship and partake of the sacrament.

One hundred steps

It is 100 steps from the front door of our flat to the front door of our building. That includes 6 flights of stairs. It is great for increasing the number of steps we take per day:)

There is a small lift (elevator) that we often take when we come back after our shift. The lift doors close very quickly when the button is pushed. We have learned that we don't press the button until the second person gets in.

Here in the UK, the first floor is called the ground floor, then the next floor is one, then two...
Thus, when coming to Flat 4, one pushes the button 3 in the lift.
Flat 1 is on G
Flat 2 is on 1
Flat 3 is on 2
Flat 4 is on 3

Cheers!

Sunday, August 9, One Month in London!

Today there were two baptisms. One young man came from Paddington on his lunch break to be baptized. Pear, a sister from Thailand doing a summer study across the street at Imperial College, was also baptized. She will continue working on her PhD in Manchester, UK in September. 

Elder Cardall takes picture of Jack and the elders who taught him.

Pear and some of her friends before her baptism.

There are two congregations that meet Sunday morning and a young single adult ward that meets at 1 p.m. Needless to say, the Visitors’ Centre, which is also the foyer of the chapel and cultural hall, is very crowed at times. Even then, we still have visitors!

The last visitor on our shift (1p.m. to 5 p.m.) today came from Southeast China. She is studying in France and has one week in London. She had walked by earlier in the week and wanted to come in today when she had more time. 

She was thrilled with the things I told her. She had been studying the paintings of Jesus in churches all over Europe. She was trying to understand God and Jesus. She was thrilled with the things she heard! She took pictures of the paintings of Jesus ordaining his apostles, Joseph Smith’s first vision, Peter, James and John restoring the authority, Jesus on the American Continent. 

When I said that we had a prophet today, just like in days of old, she soaked it all in. When told that we had the Book of Mormon in Chinese, she just lit up! Then when she saw the book, she took it with the biggest smile and said, Oh…. Salt City, my friends and I went there and it was too late, we couldn’t get in. They took pictures on Temple Square. 

She was able to watch the baptism of Pear from Thailand. I explained that she wore white clothes to represent purity. After the baptism, she told me of a dream that she had a few weeks ago, it was in color, with lots of colors and white and clothes. She paused, her eyes widened, Oh my… she said! 

She met Sister Lung from Hong Kong who was able to talk with her in Chinese. She wanted to stay and learn more. She was watching the Special Witness presentations by the modern day apostles in her language when we left. 

Our Visitors' Centre Sister Missionaries!

It is just incredible to be a part of this!

Companions

It is great to serve a mission with my eternal companion! We don't have to wonder about who our new companion will be on transfer day:) We are sharing responsibilities, Pat vacuums, Linda hangs the laundry on the rack to dry. Pat cooks the eggs, Linda makes the toast. We serve together and see the sights together.

I especially like companion study. We read and study scriptures individually and then share what we have learned and talk about it. We highly recommend this.